Kaupang

Kaupang, whose name simply means market place, was a trading settlement established around 800 on a sheltered inlet of the Vestfold coast, and excavations since the 1950s have identified plots, houses, workshops and a harbour along with cemeteries and thousands of finds: coins from the Islamic world and western Europe, glass from the Rhineland, amber, soapstone and evidence of metalworking. It is the earliest known urban settlement in Norway and is mentioned as Sciringes heal in the account the trader Ohthere gave to King Alfred of Wessex. Little is visible on the ground today, since the excavations were backfilled, but the site is marked and interpreted, with reconstructions and events run in summer.

What you actually see

• The settlement area - the plots and harbour zone marked on the ground.
• The interpretation - boards and reconstructions explaining the excavations.
• The coastal setting - the sheltered inlet that made the site work.
• The summer events - Viking-age activities and guided walks in season.

When to go

June to August, when guided tours and events run and the interpretation is staffed; outside that season the site can be walked but there is nothing organised. The setting is pleasant coastal farmland.

Honest expectations

Almost nothing is visible above ground, since the excavations were backfilled, so this is a site for people who want to stand where something happened rather than to see remains. The finds are in museums elsewhere. Facilities are minimal.

Nearby

Larvik and Molen are close; the Gokstad and Oseberg mounds lie north along the Vestfold coast.